The Daily

SA Man's Car Tagged With Swastika, Homophobic Slur in Less Than One Week

Drew Galloway has been the victim of hate-fueled vandalism twice in the past week.

Five days ago, Galloway found a message scrawled on his car door in black Sharpie reading: "It's over faggots." The white car had been parked in front of his and his partner Martin's house inside a gated northeast side neighborhood. They spent the weekend filing police reports, altering council members, and explaining what the message meant to their two sons, ages 10 and 12.

Thursday morning, Galloway found a swastika, drawn in the same black ink, on the trunk of his car.

The first incident was frustrating, Galloway told the Current, but he saw it as an enlightening moment, a reason to build community ties after a jarring election. Now, his attitude has changed.

"I'm going to make as much noise as I can directly to [city] council," Galloway said. "It's time to have a hard conversation about how hate crimes should be reported and followed up on."

Galloway is most concerned about his children's safety — the oldest often walks home from school alone. After this weekend, he told his sons they could no longer go outside after dark. Thursday afternoon, he was thinking bigger.

"We're going to have to move if this continues," he said. "My kids' safety comes first. "

This incident joins a growing list of racist, sexist, and anti-LGBT harassment — both locally and across the country — that appears to have intensified after Donald Trump's presidential win. And, if Galloway's car is an indicator, it's not slowing anytime soon.